'Bullitt'&'Krull'Director Peter Yates Passes Away at 82 Years Old« FirstShowing.net

Sad news kicks off this January week asDeadlinereports directorPeter Yates, the man behind the prolific action-filled cop dramaBullitthas passed away at 82-years old. Though he hadn't directed anything since 2004, Yates had already left a permanent impression on the film industry. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the filmmaker worked as an assistant and assistant director before finally getting his first feature,Summer Holidaystarring Cliff Richards, in 1963. But it wouldn't be until he helmedRobberyin 1967 that he would catch a break that would lead him to direct one of the most memorable cop movies of all time.

In 1968 the British filmmaker directed Steve McQueen and some of the best car chases you've ever seen inBullitt. You may have seen The Fast and the Furious, but Bullitt has some real, kick-ass driving. Since then Yates has also worked with Dustin Hoffman onJohn and Mary, Peter O'Toole onMurphy's War, and a young Jackie Earle Haley and Dennis Quaid inBreaking Away. Yates was also responsible forKrull, a cult sci-fi favorite, but he followed that up with a film on the opposite end of the spectrum inThe Dresser, a drama with Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay that would garner a Best Picture nomination and a Best Director nod for Yates. Hollywood has lost a truly influential director today, and we will miss him dearly.

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Baz Luhrmann and Michael Mann Considering 3D for Next Films?« FirstShowing.net

While we've been getting used to major blockbusters and tentpoles going 3D, it sounds like some directors whose films aren't normally full of huge CG creatures and hundreds of special effects shots, might also be venturing into the third dimension. Straight from the filmmakers themselves,Baz Luhrmann(Moulin Rouge) andMichael Mann(Public Enemies) have hinted that their next projects might be in3D. Word from Luhrmann comes fromTHRwhere he mentioned that hisforthcoming adaptationofThe Great Gatsbystarring Carey Mulligan was workshopped in 3D. As for Mann, he was a little less specific about which project might be in the 3D format.

Though both haven't made solid decisions regarding the use of 3D, Luhrmann seems closer to actually following through considering his workshop with the format. WhileThe Great Gatsbyseems like a strange choice for a 3D film, Luhrmann's trademark stylistic visuals and storytelling techniques seem to be more friendly to 3D than what Mann has in mind. Here's what theCollateraldirector said on a panel for theConsumer Electronics Show(viaBleeding Cool),"I would probably shoot… just apure dialogue dramaI would shoot in3D."

Does that mean he might be considering shootingCapa, thewar photographer biopicstarring Andrew Garfield and Gemma Arterton, in 3D? Or perhaps two of hispreviously mentioned projects,Big TunaorAgincourt, are more suited for him to play with the format. At this point we can only speculate, but the fact that filmmakers who don't usually craft big budget tentpoles are moving towards 3D seems to imply that this trend is more than a gimmick.What do you think?

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DreamWorks Animation Announces'Monkeys of Bollywood'Movie« FirstShowing.net

An interesting assembly of musical and cinematic talent is coming together for DreamWorks Animation next ambitious project.Varietyreports the animation studio is currently developingMonkeys of Bollywood, an animated musical in the spirit of internationally famous Bollywood cinema. The story will be set in Mumbai and follows two monkeys who try to stop an ancient demon from conquering the world. Not much to get excited about, but composerA.R. Rahman, responsible for scoring bothSlumdog Millionaireand127 Hours, is certainly a selling point. And that's not all the talent involved to get you excited for a musical of this sort.

ComposerStephen Scwartz, who not only wrote musicals likeGodspellandWickedbut also scored and wrote songs for Disney hits likePocahontasandEnchanted, is also on board for the animation studio's first feature musical. And if that wasn't enough, Gurinder Chadha and Paul Berges, the producing team that deliveredBend It Like Beckhamand the Bollywood style romantic comedyBride and Prejudiceis behind the project. That's a great collection of people to put an animated Bollywood musical together.

Though the story is original, the Hindu epic poemThe Ramayanaapparently inspired the project.Wikipediasays the poem"depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characters like the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king."It's quite a bold move to venture into animated musical territory that has been dominated by Disney for so long, but this assembly of talent is the right way to go. We'll keep you posted as this project develops.Interested?

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Jeffrey Dean Morgan Starring in Ghost House Thriller'Dibbuk Box'« FirstShowing.net

Late last year, right around the time whenParanormal Activity 2was destroying the box office, wewrote about a new projectin the works calledDibbuk Box. I thought it might be another found-footage thriller, but it looks like Danish filmmakerOle Bornedalis going to direct a straight horror, as described, closer toThe ExorcistorThe Shining. Well,Varietyreports thatJeffrey Dean Morganhas been cast in the film as a recently divorced father whose youngest daughter becomes strangely connected to an antique wooden box she purchased at a yard sale. Yep, she got a hold of that Dibbuk Box, and the spirit inside ain't too happy.

As his daughter's behavior becomes more erratic, he senses a dark presence building until he discovers that the box contains adibbuk-- a"dislocated spirit that inhabits and ultimately devours its human host."And supposedly it's inspired bytrue events. Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures is producing and filming starts this month. Lionsgate already hasDibbuk Boxset for release on Halloween weekend,October 28th, in place of theSawfilms which, hopefully, have finally finished. For all the fans of the horror genre, this definitely sounds like a film to keep an eye on, especially with Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the lead. Stay tuned for more!

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Adam Sandler& Andy Samberg Teaming Up for'I Hate You Dad'« FirstShowing.net

Though one of the funnymen has already left behind the late night sketch comedy series"Saturday Night Live"while the other is responsible for reinvigorating the series through hilarious Digital Shorts likeLazy Sundayand most recentlyI Just Had Sex, the two will soon be working together.THRreportsAdam SandlerandAndy Sambergare in talks with Columbia Pictures to lead the comedyI Hate You, Dad, the story of a father who moves in on the eve of his son's wedding and promptly begins feuding with the bride-to-be. Apparently Sandler would be playing Samberg's son though the age difference between them is less than 12 years.

Of course, since something as little as a difference in sex isn't stopping Sandler from playing a twin brother and sister in Jack and Jill, I'm sure Sandler won't mind putting on some make-up to look a little more aged. The project is still in the early stages of development though as no director is still attached. Sandler's Happy Madison production banner is behind the project, but the script has been sitting around since late 2008. Funnily enough, this project isnotsome sort of spin-off fromI Love You, Mandespite the title similarities and the fact that Samberg also had a role in the Paul Rudd and Jason Segel comedy.

Last time Sandler worked with fellow, former"SNL"cast members the result wasGrown Upsand it ended up on my list of theworst five films from 2010. I'm hoping that with Samberg's more contemporary comedic sensibilities involved we'll get a decent comedy this time around. Until then, Sandler is trying out another romantic comedy in February with the release ofJust Go With Itwhich puts him alongside Jennifer Aniston. I think this new project sounds a bit more promising for some decent comedy from Sandler though.How about you?

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Paramount Goes IMAX in 2011, M:I4 to Have IMAX-Shot Scenes« FirstShowing.net

Earningquite a bit of good moneyonTron Legacy,IMAXis on a roll right now and to keep it up, they need to line up some big stuff in2011. Well - Paramount and IMAX officially announced that they'll be releasing four of their big tentpole movies from 2011 on IMAX: J.J. Abrams'Super 8, Michael Bay'sTransformers: Dark of the Moon, Brad Bird'sMission: Impossible - Ghost Protocoland Spielberg/Jackson'sThe Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. Best of all, they say thatMission: Impossiblewill feature"scenes shot with IMAX cameras"that, likeThe Dark Knight, will feature a fullframe IMAX shots.

If you love seeing movies on a gigantic IMAX screen, then there's some good stuff coming up to enjoy on it (especially while we wait forThe Dark Knight Rises), that's for sure."Consumer demand forThe IMAX Experiencehas never been higher,"said Paramount's Rob Moore."Coupled with the rising popularity of the IMAX brand, the growing number of IMAX screens and the increased interest from our top filmmakers to have their movies offered in this format, IMAX is and continues to be a key part of our release strategy."Always glad to hear them supporting IMAX.The Adventures of TintinandTransformers 3were shot in 3D and will be released inIMAX 3D, howeverSuper 8and the newMission Impossiblesequel won't be in 3D.

"When you combine the incredible storytelling talents of J.J. Abrams,Michael Bay,Brad Bird, andSteven Spielbergwith technologies that transport the audience into the story, you create an awe-inspiring experience that takes movie-goers to places they only dream of -- and that is what the core and spirit of our partnership with Paramount Pictures is all about,"said Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment."We are very excited to share these amazing event films with IMAX exhibitors and movie-goers and look forward to working with these brilliant filmmakers as they showcase their talents in our format."

I'm most excited to learn thatMission: Impossible - Ghost Protocolis getting entire IMAX scenes, as those blew me away inThe Dark Knight. We haven't seen that utilized again sinceTransformers: Revenge of the Fallenand that was kind of a waste anyway. This time though we have Pixar mastermindBrad Birdat the helm and know that he's dabbling in IMAX makes me anxious with excitement to see something from this new sequel already. No word on the length or exact number of scenes we'll see in IMAX, but the more the merrier.Super 8will be released onJune 10th, 2011;Transformers: Dark of the Moonwill be released onJuly 1st, 2011;Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocolwill be released onDecember 16th, 2011; andThe Adventures of Tintinwill be released onDecember 28th, 2011.Which of these are you most excited for?

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David O. Russell Rewriting and Directing Adaptation of'2 Guns'?« FirstShowing.net

There's been a lot of buzz surrounding Mark Wahlberg's reunion with directorDavid O. Russell(The Fighter) for thevideo game adaptationUncharted: Drake's Fortune. However, before that project, Russell was slated to directVince VaughninOld St. Louis, the story a traveling salesman who has been an absentee father and how his life changes when his daughter becomes a part of it. Now it sounds like a new project with Vaughn is being set up instead asTHRreports Russell is in early talks to rewrite and direct an adaptation of2 Guns, a pulp story about cops and thieves and the men that are something in between.More below!

Based on Steven Grant'sgraphic novel of the same name, here's the short and sweet synopsis of the wholly intriguing story:

Trench has targeted a local bank to rob, and asked Steadman in on the job. Trench figures it's a great way to score -- considering it's a cover for mob money. They'll be thieves ripping off thieves. But what Steadman doesn't know is that Trench is a DEA agent. And what Trench doesn't know is that Steadman's a Naval Intelligence officer. They're both cops! And neither one knows that they're not robbing the mob, they've been set up to steal $50 million from the CIA!

Vaughn has been attached to the project since Universal picked up the property back in 2008, and apparently he's still attached now. The prospect of Russell and Vaughn collaborating on a project like this is enticing. And for anyone who doubts Vaughn doing more than his normal fast-talking, wit-filled diatribes for minutes at a time, he did see a little bit of action inMr. and Mrs. Smith. It sounds like 2 Guns won't take off until afterUncharted: Drake's Fortune, but it's not clear what that will mean forOld St. Louis.Thoughts?

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